As Tramlines celebrated its first birthday, revellers and pissheads flocked to Sheffield in the name of Steel City’s homegrown music festival.
Forge Media writers Charlie Hardwick, Erin Cardiff and Alex Burgess give us a day-by-day insight into the madness. Photos by Paula Goodale.
FRIDAY 23RD JULY
My evening began at the Forum, where Driftrun were busy dizzying the large crowd with their endless charisma. Infectious melodies aplenty, Chris Goodyear’s exhilarating guitar playing was full of energy and excitement, most apparent in their new track, ‘Addiction’, which certainly went down well with the fans.
Squeezing into The Bowery to grab a reviving pint and hopefully a good spot for Mr Darwin Deez a bit later, I managed to catch The Heebie Jeebies revving up the crowd with their unique on-stage dynamic. So tight was the space that it was difficult to see where the band ended and the crowd began, but that didn’t stop them from letting rip and doing what they do best; making a fantastic sound. Their songs are short bursts of adrenaline-fuelled excitement, backed up by cheeky vocals from Owen J. Adams and the interestingly pyjama-clad bassist, Del. Full of punchy rhythms, The Heebie Jeebies cannot help but make people smile.
Somehow, even more people managed to cram into The Bowery for the curly-haired all-singing, all-dancing beauty that is Darwin Deez. The New Yorker and his brilliant band played a small but perfectly-formed set kicking off the beautiful ‘Up In The Clouds’. And it certainly makes a gig more interesting when the band you’re watching have such flexible hips. Absolute performers to the core, Darwin Deez are a must-see if you ever get the chance.
Hot-footing it over to the Frog & Parrot, I thankfully managed to catch one of the most exciting bands around in Sheffield at the moment, Screaming Maldini. The pink and white clad 6-piece created joyous, life-affirming music that night with cheeky time signatures and luscious harmonies that really made me tingle. During their set, I stole glances around the gathered crowd, all of whom had smiles on their faces. I would hazard a guess that most people’s eyes however, were focused in on the white-trouser-clad bums of the male members of the band. No bad thing I say.
At West Street Live I was greeted with a hot and muggy pub, totally crammed with people, sweat dripping down the walls. Jungle Lion swept up the audience with their addictive ska rhythms and polished brass. I danced off my dinner and ruined my make-up, but it was worth it.
The perfect day came to a perfect end at DQ, with a faultless set by Simian Mobile Disco. Dancing non-stop for over an hour can be pretty tricky, but we were in good hands. Refreshing mixes, exciting drops, inspiring tracks, they had it all. A perfect start to the Tramlines experience.
CH
SATURDAY 24TH JULY
Main Stage Devonshire Green boasted some impressive acts. One that definitely ticked the festival highlight box was Beatbullyz – namely 5 guys, some seriously loud drums and a bloke sporting a cow mask. Although these Swindon hip-hop geniuses aren’t that well known, the crowd gave them a great reception. Their rendition of new single ‘Human Nature’ evoked a real ‘pints in the air’ moment (for the 5% of fans who were actually old enough to drink.)
In the evening, as the crowd’s energy was beginning to slump, ex-Roll Deep member Skepta burst onto the stage like a musical defibrillator. His performance made me forget that I was even supposed to be reviewing it, and his set reminded me of just how long he’s been around. Although his new single Rescue Me has pushed him into the mainstream music fore, it was his old Boy Better Know material that really got the punters going.
Being part of an 8,000 strong crowd chanting the words to Too Many Men is quite something, trust me. Following suit was new-kid-on-the-block Professor Green. He’s been quietly making a name for himself in the grime circuit for years, but 2010 has seen whispers about him growing louder, and he catapulted to fame with the summer anthem ‘Need You Tonight’. If the crowd’s reaction to his forthcoming single ‘Jungle’ is anything to go by, this boy is no one hit wonder. “Sheffield, are you ready to get grimy?” he asked the crowd. The answer? A resounding “hell yes”.
However, acoustic act Lissie seemed incongruous to the rest of the beat-heavy line up. Her set echoed the all too familiar format of all-American acoustic tediousness. The same old standard guitar riff and pointlessly ‘deep’ lyrics. Her performance wasn’t bad, just the epitome of mediocrity, which in a way is worse. A forgettable moment.
At the risk of damaging my musical credentials, I can affirm that Craig David put on a relatively good show. Maybe it’s the 90s kid in me talking but everyone loves a bit of nostalgia. His seamless rendition of 7 Days hit the spot, bringing the crowd back to their pre-teen days of walkmans and foam parties.
As far as after-dark entertainment was concerned, there was only one place that mattered. The Octagon was shaken to its foundations by an explosive DJ battle between Annie Mac and Toddla T – a clash of the dance music titans. Local boy Toddla T held his own, fusing reggae classics with grimy dubstep beats, but dance music oracle Annie triumphed with her off the Richter-scale bass. A set comprised of achingly cool hits from the likes of Major Lazer and Sub Focus made this the Mecca of all beat-heads. Tramlines 2011 has some big, albeit muddy, shoes to fill.
EC
SUNDAY 25TH JULY
After two days of revelling there were plenty of somewhat jaded faces on display. However, the good turn out at Devonshire Green on Sunday afternoon showed that Sheffield’s music lovers were most definitely up for a third day of fun.
Ex Milburn front-man Joe Carnall kicked off proceedings, supported by his new band, The Book Club. Truth be told, their songs were uncannily similar to those of Carnall’s last band. But is that such a bad thing? Many of the punters were admittedly concentrating more on the beer and the sunshine during the set, but one can’t help suspecting that this was as much to do with the fact that most were still too busy wiping the sleep from their eyes to be jumping about in ecstasy.
Tempting as it was to lounge away the afternoon in the main arena, there was no shortage of interest in the acts performing at smaller venues such as The Grapes. The dark and cramped upstairs gig room, resplendent with copiously beer-stained carpets gave local artists the chance to ply their trade.
Flying Death Picnic is the pseudonym of one young maverick who took to the stage and played a particularly memorable set, comprising a nineties rave soundtrack, not forgetting the odd jazz interlude and witty lyrics depicting Sheffield life. He had most of the self-consciously fashionable audience giggling, as they tried to decide whether this man was an inspired messenger from God, or a total joke.
Only the foolish or unlucky failed to make it back to the main stage in time to see Mystery Jets, followed by the perennially brilliant Echo and the Bunnymen. The Mystery Jets put on their usual fun show, with bassist Kai Fish launching himself spectacularly off the bass drum.
If the Jets got things warmed up then Ian McCulloch’s Bunnymen saw the party in full flow. A boy of no more than four could be seen boisterously playing air guitar, his enthusiasm matched only by an old man going mental somewhere near the front.
An untimely fire alarm sadly left hundreds waiting outside The Foundry for a 65daysofstatic gig which was eventually called off, before technical problems at The Harley caused the Dum Dum Girls’ sound check to take a good half hour. This was soon forgotten as they rounded off another year’s live music extravaganza in style, with their stunning looks and beautifully crafted songs, making a pub full of drunks very happy in the process.
AB
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